ESPN anchor Hannah Storm returned to work to host the Rose Parade in Pasadena Tuesday, just three weeks after she suffered first and second degree burns in a grilling accident in the backyard of her Connecticut home.

“We have a propane grill, I went outside to light it to cook the meat … it was a windy night, so the flame had been blown out that I ignited, so I turned the gas off, I went to reignite it and there was an explosion,” she told Elliott. “A wall of fire came at me, it was like a movie. It literally blew the doors of the grill off, and I looked down, and I was on fire — that’s a terrible feeling.”

The 50-year-old broadcaster added, “My friends really came through — I really don’t know if I could have done this day with anyone but you,” she told Elliott, who responded that he’d never been happier to see her.

“Something like this really makes you appreciate everything you have, even the chance to wake up on New Year’s Day and do your job,” she later said. “More than anything, I feel gratitude.”